Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Imperium

By: Robert Harris
Narrated by: Oliver Ford-Davies
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £11.99

Buy Now for £11.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

When Tiro, the confidential secretary of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually propel his master into one of the most famous courtroom dramas in history.

The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Cicero, a brilliant young lawyer and spellbinding orator, determined to attain imperium - supreme power in the state.

This is the starting-point of Robert Harris's most accomplished novel to date. Compellingly written in Tiro's voice, it takes us inside the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics, to describe how one man - clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable - fought to reach the top.

Sometimes it is foolish to articulate an ambition too early - exposing it prematurely to the laughter and scepticism of the world can destroy it before it is even properly born. But sometimes the opposite occurs, and the very act of mentioning a thing makes it suddenly seem possible, even plausible. That was how it was that night. When Cicero pronounced the word "consul" he planted it in the ground like a standard for us all to admire. And for a moment we glimpsed the brilliant, starry future through his eyes, and saw that he was right: that if he took down Verres, he had a chance; that he might - just - with luck - go all the way to the summit....

©2006 Robert Harris (P)2006 Random House Audiobooks
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Advocate cover art
I, Claudius cover art
Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician cover art
Empire Betrayed cover art
Claudius the God cover art
These Honored Dead cover art
The Path to Power cover art
A Tale of Two Cities cover art
The Course of Honour cover art
American Prometheus cover art
The First Horseman cover art
47 Ronin cover art
The Mask of Apollo cover art
Sea Change cover art

Critic reviews

"Harris deploys the devices of the thriller writer to trace the perils and triumphs of Cicero's ascent.... A finely accomplished recreation of the power struggles of more than two millenniums ago." ( Observer)

What listeners say about Imperium

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding!

I hope there is a sequel to this because I was drawn into it from the first few minutes.

What I found amazing is how the dirty tricks of politics have not changed to this day, and Cicero's cutting wit is even funnier now because of how our politicians behave.
Great read.. er listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb narration

Oliver Ford Davies delivers a wonderful reading of this fascinating book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Cicero Trilogy (Book 1)

The book is written as a reflection of Cicero’s life in the voice of Tiro his faithful servant, scribe and friend. He looks back on Cicero’s rise to prominence in Roman society through a series of tactical and very risky manoeuvres, taking on some particularly nasty vengeful characters. At first he seems to be a champion of the underdog, friend of the people, but as time goes on you see the emergence of something else where political ambition is everything.
Fascinating stuff, can’t wait for Lustrom.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent storytelling

Robert Harris excels in this wonderfully researched and intelligently written book.
Characters, intrigue and political chicanery fill every 'page'.
Oliver Ford-Davies provides the oral gravitas with the addition of perfect comic timing.
Sweeping in both the subject and authorial accomplishment it's a fascinating listen .
Robert Harris has triumphed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A GOOD LESSON OF ROMAN IMPERIAL HISTORY

I did love it and sought for more as well as after reading RobertHarrise's 'POMPEII'

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!